Sen. Warren: “Troubled” by Obama’s Speaking Fee

Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren (D) while speaking with Alter Family Politics on SiriusXM Radio said that the $400,000 speaking fee that former President Barack Obama received for a recent speech to Wall Street “troubled” her.

[embedded content]

“I was… uh… troubled by that. One of the things I talk about in the book is the influence of money. I’ve described it as a snake that slithers through Washington. And that it shows up in so many different ways here in Washington. You know, people understand the money that goes into campaign contributions, and when I say ‘understand,’ I don’t mean they think it’s okay, but at least people see it, the money that goes into hiring lobbyists. But it’s also the money that goes into bought and paid for experts, the money that goes into think tanks that have these shadowy funders and the think tanks always come up with the things the shadowy figures want them to come up with. Even advertising, how I talk about the studies that show that when an industry takes out ads, it changes news coverage. I even talk about the United States Supreme Court and how much more pro-corporate it is becoming because of money that is being spent in Washington. So, you know, the influence of dollars on this place is what scares me. I think it ultimately threatens democracy. And one of the reasons I feel so urgent when I wrote this book is, we have to think about what the tools are to fight back against it. And we go out and raise money as best we can, but a money versus money war, believe me the rich will always win that one. But what I am pushing for and what I keep talking about in this book is the rich and powerful, they got money, and they got power. That’s the definition, but ya know, there is more of us than there is of them and we got to use our voices and our votes and fight back.”